BERLIN — A former Berlin Nursing and Rehabilitation Center administrator has been indicted by a Charles County grand jury on multiple counts of theft and fraud, including allegedly bilking the local nursing home out of thousands of dollars nearly a decade ago.

Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler on Wednesday announced Scott Colver, 48, of Hagerstown, has been indicted and charged with six counts of felony Medicaid fraud, five counts of felony theft and one count of felony theft scheme. The indictment alleges that over a period of time in 2004 and 2005, Colver made false representations and attempted to defraud the Maryland Medicaid program in connection with nursing home expenses.

In addition, the indictment alleges Colver committed theft from the Berlin Nursing and Rehabilitation Center during his time as an administrator from 2004 to 2005. According to the indictment, Colver wrote checks from Berlin Nursing and Rehabilitation Center accounts for personal use. It is uncertain from the Maryland Attorney General’s prepared announcement just how much Colver allegedly stole from the Berlin facility, but reports indicate it could have been as much as several hundred thousand dollars.

In 2011, Colver sent a letter to the Maryland State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators officially surrendering his license to practice in the state in light of an investigation into his malfeasance. In the letter, Colver said he was surrendering his license to avoid prosecution at the time.

“I have decided to surrender my license to practice nursing home administration in the state of Maryland to avoid prosecution of the disciplinary charges that are now pending before the board,” the letter reads. “I acknowledge that the board initiated an investigation of me based on allegations that I misappropriated funds from the Berlin Nursing and Rehabilitation Center from 2004 to 2005 where I served as a nursing home administrator.”

In the letter surrendering his license to practice as a nursing home administrator in Maryland, Colver all but acknowledged the theft scheme promulgated on the Berlin nursing home facility.

“The board’s investigation determined that I misappropriated funds from the Berlin Nursing Home from 2004 to 2005,” the letter reads. “Specifically, the board has evidence in the form of 16 cancelled checks, written from the Berlin Nursing Home account, signed by me, for payments to various vendors for merchandises and services totaling approximately $82,000. Furthermore, the board has evidence that these merchandizes and services were, in fact, not provided to Berlin Nursing Home, but were instead provided to me for my personal benefit.”

However, published reports indicate Colver’s embezzlement from the Berlin Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was far more extensive than the $82,000 referenced in his letter of resignation. For example, according to a published report of a separate civil suit involving Colver’s alleged embezzlement from Mid-Atlantic Health Care, Colver refused to respond to questions about over $460,000 in payments made by the Berlin Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to a company controlled by the individual who sold Colver a house for $490,000 in 2005.

Felony Medicaid Fraud is currently punishable by up to five years’ incarceration and up to a $100,000 fine. The felony theft statute provides for a maximum possible sentence of 15 years’ incarceration and up to a $25,000 fine. The case against Colver is being prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Maryland Attorney General’s Office with assistance from the Maryland State Police.